I read this article through a Facebook post Pallu, pleat, power and couldn’t stop smiling :):)
Today is Monday and I pull out my uniform, another beautiful sari and get to work. I fell in love with saris very early in life. The first time I ever wore a sari was in Shillong and Kalyan started calling me “chinna Mami” or “little aunt” and Ramesh came up quietly to compliment me saying I looked pretty. This was in class 8, or when I was 13 years old. Then we wore many different saris during dance performances or while singing patriotic songs. I still remember participating in a “Bihu” dance in Kendriya Vidyalaya, Happy Valley and the teacher had got her own Assamese Mekhla sari for me to wear – so beautiful that I am still waiting to buy a replica. Then in college I learnt to wear the sari by myself and would wear them on special occasions. I still remember Padma saying Vidya and I looked beautiful in our respective saris. I learnt about the Mysore silk sari that day… My mother always wore sarees, have never seen her in any other dress. Have taken many of her silks to wear, as they are so beautiful.
I started working in 1990 and except for a year and a half in Pizza corner where we had to wear our uniform, my uniform to work has been a sari. There have been some days in other firms where I have worn something other than a sari, but those were just a few days. I feel wonderful draping a sari around me, and nothing looks better on me. A sari hides your flaws and brings out the best, if draped right. A sari never goes out of fashion, change the drape and it can go from formal to informal, to party, to mandir visit, to any occasion. I am a bit of an anamoly in the corporate world, as many women today prefer wearing western formals or the salwar kameez. Nothing against either of those garments, but the elegance that a sari bestows on the wearer is something else. Then there are ethnic days just before an important festival and you can see all the young women wearing saris and looking awesome !! Ofcourse for me it’s a regular day at work 🙂
A big complaint against wearing a sari everyday to work is, that it takes time. Actually it takes five minutes, at best ten. The sheer variety in fabric is mind boggling – cotton, crepe, chiffon, silk, organza, lace, silk-cotton mix, cotton-polyester mix, Mulmul, satin… And each of the fabrics has further variety, so the combination is just fascinating. I have a map of India with different sari types mentioned on it and the region where these types are weaved. I still remember Jaya Jaitley’s comment in a Barkha Dutt show on fashion, “why complain about size, just wear sarees, they are always free size and all you need to change is the blouse.” … So true. I have saris older than me and they are still wearable and infact the older the silk, the better it’s quality.
I just loved the article above as it echoes my feelings exactly… A sari makes me walk in beauty, feeling beautiful and feeling graceful. Waiting for the sari comeback as a daily wear, not just a festive occasional wear.
Excellent blog. I too love the saari. I was about 14 when I first wore a saari. We lived in Africa and wore skirts and blouses to school but the first was at a family wedding. Since then I loved to wear a saari but being in Africa does not allow it as appropriate dress for school or work. My mother, aunts, grandmothers have all worn only saaris all their lives. My mother even after living in a cold country refused to even wear leggings under her saari. But when I was 16 and finished high school, I started wearing the saari at home. There was nowhere to go and no official business to attend to so just like my mother, I started wearing the saari at home. But my dad wanted to train me at work and being a factory tailoring clothes, I had to shelf the saari.
Then I was abducted by a muslim and dress took second place as I had to work from day one to feed his family of 7. Saari for gone and forgotten. But when I visited India for the first time on a business assignment, I walked into the Taj at 4 in the morning, in my jeans and a top and looked around. Beauty at its best. Each female staff member was attired in a beautiful saari. What a lovely sight. But I understand that is changing too. The little short skirt has come in compared to the saari. I have not been to any 5 star hotels lately and do not know if they still wear saaris. I wore a saari everyday in India at that time.
I moved to Canada in 1990 after that and the saari looks totally odd being worn in a country where jogging pants and tee shirts are the rule of law.. Everyone is in scruffy jogging pants or jeans and tee shirts or tops in summer and all coated and buttoned up in winter. Running shoes are the most worn footwear. The saari disappeared out of my life. There was nowhere to go and nothing to do so there was no need. I was never invited to weddings or functions, and the temples were far to go for celebrations. No one offered a ride.
Now I am in India. I finally moved back hoping to be with my own self. The lover of saaris and everything hindu. But what do you know? The tailors refuse to make my clothes. I have already wasted 10,000 rupees trying to make some indian clothes and whatever I had were damaged by someone who poured oil on my suitcase damaging every piece of clothing inside. I am still alone, nowhere to go and nothing to do.
So today I live in Delhi, the Rajdhani, wearing jogging pants and tee shirts bought from a store.
I have always been enchanted by the saree and it was no wonder I fell head over heals in love with my wife-to-be at first sight. It is indeed amazing how the fascination has remained intact for 16 long years, even today my heart skips a beat on seeing my children’s mother draped majestically in one of her colourful possessions.
Soo true!! Really waiting for the saree come back and the day gals realise it’s power ! (Saree is my uniform to my workplace 😊)
Yes Sirisha 🙂